When the clock chimed 12, Hermione and Rei set down their things – in 5 hours, they had accomplished more than either of them had expected, and they were overjoyed.
"I can't believe how much we managed to get done today," Hermione said happily as she carefully packed away a set of stone tablets.
"Well, two brains are definitely better than one," Rei replied as she rearranged a stack of parchment. "Especially when they're as big and beautiful as ours."
Laughing, Hermione set the rest of their work aside before she checked the time and gasped. "Ooh! I'm so sorry, but I need to be off – I'm meeting Blaise for lunch at the Oak & Cherry in 30 minutes."
Shrugging on her coat, Rei flipped her long, black hair over one shoulder and smiled. "No problem – I've got to run anyway. Be sure to tell him I say hi."
As Hermione pulled the strap of her bag over her shoulder, she grinned playfully, waggling her eyebrows up and down. "I will be sure to do that! "
Rei rolled her eyes as she leaned in to hug her friend. "You're being ridiculous."
Hermione feigned innocence when she pulled back. "What! You mean you've never… You know…"
"No!" Rei wrinkled her nose. "Have you?"
Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know – he can be rather dashing, don't you think?"
Chuckling, Rei clipped up her hair to reveal a row of silver piercings in her ear. "Be that as it may, you of all people should know that I'm not in to pretty boys."
Laughing freely, Hermione conceded. "That's true – they can't keep up with you."
"You know it," Rei winked, before she blew Hermione a quick air kiss. "Anyway, have fun at lunch – I'll see you Monday morning!"
Smiling brightly, Hermione watched as her friend sprinted up the stairs before she, too, collected her things, turned on her heel, and disapparated.
"Blaise!"
When Blaise turned to see Hermione approaching, his face immediately broke into a wide smile.
"Hermione!" he exclaimed as he gathered her into a tight hug. "It's so good to see you."
"You too," she beamed back. "Sorry to keep you waiting!"
"Don't be silly," he replied as he offered her a single pink rose. "For you."
Taking the flower, Hermione tilted her head to the side, an appreciative smile on her face as pulled him into another hug.
"Thank you so much – it's beautiful. Now come on, let's go in and order, I'm famished."
Despite the fact that the Oak & Cherry was packed, the duo managed to snatch a table in the far corner of the room. As they dug in to hearty portions of chicken and ham pie, they discussed the events that had taken place over the past few weeks.
"So how have you been?" Blaise asked as he took a sip of mead. "I feel like I've barely seen you."
"Ugh, I know, I'm sorry," Hermione sighed, setting her fork down. "These past few weeks have been hellish - there's just been so much going on."
"I understand," Blaise replied, chewing thoughtfully. "I hope everything has sorted itself out though."
"It seems like it has," Hermione gave him a hopeful smile before she took a sip of her ginger whisky. "I finally feel like I'm in a more balanced place."
"That's good," Blaise smiled back. "I've hated seeing you so upset. It just... It affects the room."
Touched by his sentiment, Hermione squeezed his hand gently from across the table.
"Anyway," Hermione continued, as she resumed eating. "With the exhibition coming up in November and Ginny's wedding to plan, I don't think I'll have time for any more unhappiness! Too many good things to think about."
"R-Right! I'd completely forgotten about all that," Blaise faltered for an instant, shaking himself from their brief moment of intimacy. "So, exhibition going okay?"
"Actually, thanks to Rei, it's going brilliantly," Hermione smiled. "We have something really remarkable planned! Oh, and she says hi."
Blaise chuckled as he took another sip from his pint. "She's an interesting character, isn't she? Very… Hm. I'm not quite sure how to put it."
"Witty? Tenacious?"
"More like I'm fairly sure she could kick my arse," he admitted, an innocent – but genuine – look on his face. "The two of you and Ginny make a very dangerous trinity."
Hermione snorted in to her plate as she let out a glittering laugh.
"Don't tell them I said that."
"I'm fairly sure they already know," Hermione grinned as she smoothed her skirt in her lap. "But how about you? How is life? Any lucky ladies you've neglected to tell me about?"
"Life is alright," Blaise said as he cut into the crust of his pie. "Research is going slowly for my exhibition, but I'm hoping Ansel will provide me with some fresh contacts soon. As for my social life, there's nothing to talk about, really."
"Oh, come off it – are you telling me that Blaise Zabini, the most charming man I've ever seen in action, is completely unattached? What has the world come to!"
Hermione grinned at him playfully before she took another bite of food.
"Let's just say… I'm trying to figure some things out," he finally revealed as he looked at her curiously.
"I see. Anything I can help with?"
Looking down, he let out a quiet laugh. "Just keep being the wonderful you that you are."
The pair settled into a comfortable silence as they finished the rest of their meals. Then, after a few moments, Blaise spoke.
"So… how are things with you and Malfoy?"
A thoughtful look on her face, Hermione set down her fork. "They're going really well actually – you were right, he is a good guy."
The same odd feeling Blaise had experienced the day before was now back, twisting unpleasantly in his chest.
"That's good. You seem rather taken with him – more so than with any other bloke you've dated."
Hermione gave him a small smile and shrugged. "Not that there have been many, but no – he isn't like any other man I've been with. He's… special."
Blaise was beginning to feel uncomfortable as he looked at the enchanted expression on her face.
"Is it serious?"
The look only proceeded to grow stronger as she thought about him…
"You could say that."
A couple seconds went by where Blaise remained silent. Knowing he needed to say something – fast – he forced his emotions to the side and constructed a mask of happiness.
"I'm delighted to hear that," he smiled warmly, while inside he felt more like grimacing. Then, in a more genuine tone, he added. "Your happiness is the most important thing."
Hermione – blind to his hidden discomfort – smiled once again at her friend. "I'm so lucky to have you in my life," she said before she pulled him into a hug.
Blaise returned the embrace, holding her tightly, as he thought of all the things he wanted to say. Nevertheless, he meant what he said – her happiness was the most important thing – so he found his self-control, and pulled himself back.
"Well!" he exclaimed, checking his watch. "I've actually got to get going. I'm so glad we were able to meet today - I hope we can resume our regular lunches during the week."
"Oh- yes, of course," Hermione replied, a bit surprised at his sudden need to leave. Gathering her things, she took his proffered arm as he led them out of the pub.
When they re-entered the nippy British air, he turned to look in her eyes, lingering for just a moment longer than he should have. Catching himself, he flashed her one last smile.
"I'll see you Monday, yeah?"
"Of course," she replied warmly.
With a wink, he turned on his heel and vanished.
At 7, the doorbell rang. Hermione – who was now dressed in leggings and an oversized sweatshirt – ran to the door, a wad of muggle money in hand. She opened it to a young man who was waiting patiently with an arm full of Chinese food.
"Hi!" she breathed as she took the large bag from his hands. "Thank you so much – here, keep the change."
"Cheers, miss!" she heard him say seconds before she shut the door.
As she pulled out the various boxes of food, she heard a silent woosh and saw that Draco had sent her a message by floo.
Dress code?
Smiling, she scribbled a quick message back saying 'As comfy as you like!' before she continued unwrapping their dinner.
Moments later, a loud pop sounded behind her, and she felt a pair of hands make their way around her waist.
"Hello, beautiful."
Sighing at the familiar sound of his voice, Hermione turned around in Draco's embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Hello yourself," she said, an excited smile on her face as she reached up for a kiss.
"Gods, I've missed you," Draco whispered as he pulled back, looking deeply into her eyes.
A slight blush appearing on her cheeks, Hermione leaned back and gestured to herself and the food. "I hope you don't mind, I planned for more of a night in."
Draco gave her a soft smile as he took her hand in his and kissed it lightly. "It's perfect."
Draco, who had never had Chinese food, was excited to taste the cuisine; Hermione, on the other hand, was more excited to see Draco use chopsticks for the first time.
The couple spent the first hour of dinner laughing as Hermione tried – and failed – to teach him the proper way to eat. Halfway through the meal, he gave up and resorted to eating with a spoon – 'whoever thought that a pair of bloody sticks was the best possible way to eat rice was a nutter'. The second hour was spent discussing the previous day's events – Hermione told Draco about the exhibition; Draco told her about his cases.
Once they finished up their dinner, Hermione poured them each a large glass of wine and made her way to the couch where the two of them relaxed – full and happy – in each other's company.
"I don't think I've ever properly thanked you for everything you've done this week," Hermione said, stroking Draco's hair as his head lay in her lap.
Pushing himself on to his forearm, he looked at her. "You needn't thank me at all, Hermione. Everything I did was because I care about you."
"I know," she said, pulling him back down. "But still. I just want you to know how much I appreciate it."
The pair fell into companionable silence as Draco relished in the feeling of her fingers in his hair.
"So this Rei," Draco started after a few minutes. "Have I met her before?"
"Not officially," Hermione replied. "She knows who you are, though."
"Oh?"
Giggling slightly, Hermione looked down. "I believe her exact words were 'it's about time he made his move, he was always staring at you when he came to our exhibitions'."
Draco's cheeks reddened slightly. "So… she's an observant one, then."
"Very much so," Hermione grinned. "Don't worry though, if you get along with Ginny, I'm sure you'll get on with her."
"Good," Draco said, reaching back to stroke Hermione's arm gently. "I look forward to officially meeting her."
Hermione gave him a soft kiss on the forehead as she leaned back and smiled contently.
Several moments passed before Draco asked an unexpected question.
"Are you close with your parents?"
Hermione stopped moving.
Sensing that he might have crossed a line, Draco sat up. "I'm sorry if that was an inappropriate question… I was just wondering, since…" he gestured towards the photograph she had of them on her bookshelf.
Sighing, Hermione folded her legs and slowly turned to face him on the couch. "It's not an inappropriate question. It's just…"
Draco mirrored her position and placed a gentle hand on her knee. "Just..?"
Breathing deeply, Hermione began fiddling with the ends of her jumper.
"At the height of the war… When Harry, Ron and I were preparing our hunt for the horcruxes, none of us knew what was going to happen - we didn't know if our loved ones would survive it, let alone ourselves. I spent that last summer with my parents – a combination of wanting to be with them and needing to protect them.
But I felt guilty… torn… between my duty to my family and my duty to Harry, to the world – our world. My parents had no idea how bad the problem was, and I didn't want to tell them for fear that they might not let me come back, because… As much as I loved – love – them… I didn't belong there. I didn't. And it hurt so much knowing that that was the truth.
So... Before I left, I did what I had to do to keep them safe – I altered their memories, gave them new identities, and sent them to Australia so that they would have no connection to me – if they didn't know who I was, Voldemort couldn't get to them. The plan was for it all to be temporary, but when I left to go find them after the war ended… Well. They had been spellbound for so long that their original memories just… decayed. I was nothing more than a stranger to them."
Hermione let out a shaky sigh as she looked up at Draco; his eyes were filled with a deep sadness.
"Hermione…"
"No, it's okay," Hermione sniffled, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "I'm glad you know. And as terribly as it turned out, it was for the best. They're alive and happy, which is all I wanted. Besides," she added, rolling up her sleeve. "In doing what I did, I know that they never had to be subjected to this-"
Hermione tapped her forearm lightly with her ring finger, and Draco watched in silent outrage as her glamour charm dissolved to reveal the word 'mudblood' etched roughly in to her skin.
Taking her arm lightly in his hands, he looked up at her – a tortured look in his eyes.
"Who did this to you?"
"Bellatrix Lestrange."
Screwing his eyes shut, his next question was one Hermione did not want to answer.
"Were you at the manor?"
Her silence was response enough.
Draco leaned down to press his lips softly against her scars and she felt a small flicker in her heart – many years ago, the word would have meant something very different to him. When Draco once again met her gaze, she saw his eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"I am so sorry."
Hermione gave him a tearful smile as she placed a gentle hand on the side of his face. "You have nothing to be sorry for."
"But my parents…"
"You are not them," she said quietly, rubbing her thumb against his cheek.
Sighing, Draco pulled her in to his arms and held her. There were many things he hated about being a Malfoy – the history of elitism, bigotry, dark magic… but this, without a doubt, was now number one.
"I haven't spoken to my parents in almost 10 years… I don't even know if they're both still alive."
Shifting slightly on his chest, Hermione turned to look up at Draco's face, encouraging him to continue.
"They were never… caring. Sometimes I think the only reason why they even had me in the first place was so that they would have a son to carry on the pureblood Malfoy name."
Hermione's eyes shone sadly as she heard the bitterness in his voice.
"They never hugged me or told me they loved me… I don't recall a single time that either of them even really smiled when I was around.
I tried so… so hard to gain my father's approval because I thought it would make him happy… For years I was a terrible person; cruel, ruthless, unkind – I had become everything I had hated most about him. I was so wrong and ended up hurting so many people… When we were entering our sixth year at Hogwarts, I remember him telling me that he had something very 'special' planned… How naïve of me to think that for once, it was going to be something good.
I didn't realize what I was getting myself in to until Snape warned me that the plan involved my inevitable death. 16 years old and my father gave no more shit about me than when I was born. To my parents I was nothing more than a pawn… I was garbage, I was disposable."
Draco clenched his jaw as angry tears threatened to spill over. Taking a few deep breaths, he managed to steady himself.
Looking down in to the shining brown eyes of his beloved, he felt a deep calm settle through him. Lifting a hand to her face, he swept a fallen strand of hair behind her ear.
"Dumbledore may have helped me find the right path, but it was Harry, Ginny… you, who helped me find myself… Thank you for believing in me."
Letting out a shaky sigh, Hermione kissed Draco for all she was worth; the sadness, understanding, and love she felt for him pouring through. When she pulled back, Draco nuzzled his nose against hers, looking into her eyes as he counted each fleck of amber he could see speckled across their deep brown depths.
"What?" Hermione asked, sniffling.
"I just…" Draco started, temporarily at a loss for words. "I love you."
Smiling wetly, Hermione bent down to kiss his cheeks before she whispered a quiet 'I love you, too' across his lips.
The pair spent the remainder of the evening in each other's arms - laughing, playing, discussing their hopes and dreams - until the light of the early sun began to glow between the rooftops, shining gloriously down upon their newly strengthened bond.
A/N:
Hello again! I must say, I've seriously been feeling the inspiration for this story over the past few weeks :) I already have 2 more chapters fully written!
I hope you enjoyed this latest installment - I really wanted to push Draco and Hermione's relationship a little further, and I think talking about their families and their histories has provided a really good way for them to do that. Since neither of them is very upfront when it comes to personal matters, the fact that they felt comfortable enough to discuss such important and impactful things shows just how serious they are getting.
With regards to Blaise - he is definitely starting to understand the complexity of what he is feeling towards Hermione, although I don't think he's fully grasped it yet. Still, for those of you who are worried that he is going to come along and ruin things, find comfort in knowing that he really, truly cares about her - she is one of his closest friends - and I don't think he is selfish enough to try and throw a wrench in her new relationship, no matter how confused he may be feeling.
The next chapter will have a lot of Ginny, so you can expect enthusiasm, tough love, and brutal honesty… I'm really excited to get it up and published!
Thank you again for all of your kind words - speak to you very soon! xx
StarGirlPotter: Of course I would mention it - you guys all have such wonderful and insightful ideas, I can't help but pass it on! :) I'm quite unfamiliar with the RWBY-verse, but I will be sure to check it out. As a fellow writer, I really appreciate your thoughtful words - it can be hard finding the balance between humor and seriousness, and I'm really glad you're enjoying what I'm doing with the story! I look forward to seeing what you think about these next few chapters :)
Windyshoes: Yay! I'm so happy that you made it to see my comment for you :P Thank you so much - I'm glad you're enjoying the story! With regards to powering through, I definitely understand - I remember back when I first started reading fan fiction I would stay up all night to finish a story! Absolutely no regrets ;D
Dncetilyadrop: Hermione is definitely going to be busy over the next few chapters - I have a LOT of things planned! Rei will also be featured more heavily in the story, so I'm so pleased to hear that you're looking forward to more of their interactions! Thank you for your feedback on the parties as well - I'll be sure to create the perfect send offs for both of them! :)
StBerryFan22: Welcome, and thank you so much for reading! :) Ronald has never really been one of my preferred characters either (far too boring) so we have that in common hehe. I really appreciate you taking the time to review - stay tuned, the next chapters will be coming along quickly!
Grovek26: I'm so glad that you're enjoying the dynamic between them :) She's going to be around for a while! I've definitely found that in other fics, the passion Hermione has for knowledge tends to get lost in the mix, so I've been trying to show it more in this one. As far as Blaise is concerned - he's not quite finished with her!
Sdrlana21: Thank you so much for your kind words! The next chapter will be coming soon - I look forward to hearing your input! :D